Lady Grinch
by RainynDawn
Summary: Hermione is tired of Christmas and so does the unthinkable: she decides to not celebrate it. Now only one wizard may be able to convince her that there is still reason to celebrate.


**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the things that you guys recognize... Everything else is up for debate.**

**Merry (or Happy) Christmas ya'll... This is one of my presents to you. I will be getting to my other stories...I'm just stuck in a rut on both of them at the moment and I'm in debate with my betas on where to go with them. So you get this for the time being...**

Hermione slapped her thick, dragon-hide gloves down on the table with a resounding 'thunk.' She had just mutinously threatened to do bodily harm to the next person that even dared to mutter a Christmas song in her presence. She swore if she heard the lyrics 'Walking in a Winter Wonderland' one more time, she was going to rip out someone's vocal cords.

It wasn't even December, she thought furiously as she began to unbutton her thick woollen coat. Honestly, at the first sign of a snow (although blizzard would be a more appropriate word for the catastrophe outside), people started singing carols and trimming the tree.

Well, she was having none of it. Not at all. This year, she was going to veto Christmas and all that came with it. She would not put up a tree or any sort of decoration. She would not be cajoled into baking her traditional Christmas sugar cookies. And she certainly would not play any Christmas songs on her Witch Wireless.

Just slap a top hat on her and call her Scrooge, Hermione Granger was not going to celebrate Christmas.

**BAH HUMBUG!**

"Did you hear?"

"Is it true then?"

"Nah, it can't be. Could it?"

"I personally won't believe it until I hear it straight from the horse's mouth."

"So she's a horse now is she?"

The Weasleys, plus a few extras, were sitting around the fireplace in the den of The Black House discussing the latest rumour that had taken hold of the Wizarding World: Hermione Granger was protesting Christmas. Well, to be honest, she wasn't really protesting as much as she just simply wasn't celebrating it, but to the Christmas loving wizards, she might as well have been driving a steel-tipped stake through each of their hearts.

The rumour had taken flight the previously evening when said Hermione Granger _apparently_ set a tree on fire that a wizard had insisted she take to liven up her small cottage. She had politely refused, it was told, but when the man had become more insistent and had demanded she take the tree, she lost her temper and, well, poof.

The tree was nothing more than a toothpick.

So now the wizarding community was all abuzz with the latest gossip concerning Hermione Granger, best friend to the Boy-Who-Kicked-Voldemorts-Albino-White-Arse. As the Christmas season was by far the most cherished holiday in the wizarding world, as it provided them with an abundance of hope after the war, it was frowned upon that one of the war heroes would dare to presume to set out on Christmas.

And so now the Weasleys, Harry, Remus, and Sirius were all sitting in the Black House discussing what to make of the recent developments. Fred had been the one that stated he would not believe it until he "heard it from the horse's mouth" which brought him many odd stares, but then he had muttered something that the author hadn't even dare to type.

"What?" he asked, innocently enough when everyone stared at him openly, but after many years of perfecting the look, no one was buying it for a second.

"Nothing," Remus said with a light shake of his head, turning back to stare into the licking flames of the roaring fire. He swirled the amber liquid in his glass methodically as he pondered over the situation. "I wonder," he whispered almost to himself.

"What are you wondering over there, Fuzzy?" Sirius drawled, a slow smirk forming at the corner of his mouth.

Remus' eyes darted quickly over to his lounging friend's before turning once more to the fire. "Why she would pass on Christmas this year."

"Well, it is only a rumour," Harry interjected. "It could be something someone concocted to just draw some unwanted attention Hermione's direction."

Remus shook his head ever so slightly as he faced the twenty year old. "I don't think so. I saw Hermione last week and she seemed a little off. She's not really into the spirit of the holidays at the moment."

"But why isn't she?" Harry implored. "She's always enjoyed Christmas before. It was her favourite holiday."

"This is her first Christmas without her parents, Harry," Remus reasoned. "It was like she had just found the before she lost them again."

Indeed it had been just like that. When Hermione had sent them away during the war to protect them, she had made some of the charms too strong. She had a tough time to break them, and when she finally did, she lost her parents to a car accident. That had only been two months ago.

"Well," Sirius said, breaking the tense silence, "maybe we can do something to cheer her up and get her to enjoy the holiday again."

"Just what do you have in mind?" Fred asked with a mischievous spark in his eye. His counterpart, too, moved forward as if in anticipation of a good time.

"I don't know just yet," Sirius said, half to himself, "but I'm sure we'll figure something out." In drew in a deep breath as he looked at each of them. "In the meantime, though, we can simply remind Hermione the joy of the holiday season."

Remus stared at his friend and wondered about the look in the animagus' eye. He knew when Sirius got an idea, he was usually zealous about it, but there was something else there.

Maybe Sirius would get what he was looking for this Christmas as well…

**Bah Humbug!**

Hermione groaned as the blinding white light drifted in through her windows, piercing her straight into her eyes. That certainly made her morning brighter. She rolled over, rubbing her eyes as she did so, to check the time on her clock, only to stop.

Why the bloody hell was it that bright outside at seven thirty in the evening?

Muttering dark curses, she stumbled out of the bed, getting terribly tangled up in the covers as she did so, and snatched her wand up off the nightstand. As she reached the windows, she grabbed the curtains and jerked them back quickly, only to have her mouth fall open in shock.

"What the…devil?" she said slowly as she took in the situation.

Someone had snuck over to her house and literally plastered the place with thousands upon thousands of white Christmas lights. If she had the galleons in her account, she would probably bet them all that her house could be seen from space.

"Oh, someone's going to die today," she growled menacingly as she shoved her feet in a pair of mules and grabbed her dressing robe from the chair. "A slow, agonizing death."

When she burst through her front door and out into her yard, she made another startling discovery that sent her into a fury of curses so vile that a sailor would probably even blush. Not only was her house covered from roof to foundation in lights, but the whole yard was filled with decorations and lights. Out front was a sign that flashed the words, "Winter Wonderland."

She screamed.

It wasn't a soft scream at all either. It was one of those powerful screams that started in her diaphragm and rose out of her with a vengeance; one where even the neighbours five doors down could hear.

She was about to raise her wand to the atrocity, but thought better of it- she did have muggle neighbours after all. Instead, she angrily marched over to the socket and pulled the plug.

Nothing happened.

Not a single light went out. Instead, she was sure- she was almost _absolutely_ positive- that another light lit up on the strand. She pulled out the second plug, and this time a figurine that she had not noticed before- probably because it hadn't been there until she had pulled the plug- popped up near her and lit up.

"Oh this is just plain silly," she growled as she pulled the third plug, and then the fourth, and the fifth. Light after light appeared in her front yard as she continuously tried the plugs until eventually a tiny note appeared out of thin air.

_Wouldn't pull anymore if I were you, lest you want your house to be tacky._

Crumbling the note in her hand, she growled, "The twins."

**Bah Humbug!**

A look of unadulterated horror appeared on the mischievous faces of Fred and George Weasley about the same time that Hermione Granger received the little note. It was an expression that had not been witnessed by others before, and some found it quite unsettling that the mischief makers would be so scared of anything, or in this case, of anyone.

"Why in the name of Merlin would you do a thing like that?" Fred cried in an unnaturally high and panicked voice, causing many in the store to turn and stare at the three curiously.

"She's going to think it was us now," his twin, George, added, his voice too laced with worry. "Do you know what's she going to do to us?"

Fred slapped a hand to his forehead and groaned. "Oh, just think of the spells she knows, George."

"Think of how good she is at the severing charm, Fred."

"It was nice knowing you brother."

"I'm glad you're my twin and not some prat like Ron."

"You two are nothing better than a bunch of girls," growled the third member of their party. "She won't harm you," at this point there was a large pause in the sentence as the twins gave the older man a disbelieving look, "much."

"It's the parts that will hurt that worries us," George said, crossing his arms over his chest as he glared at the man.

"It was a bloody good joke, Sirius," Fred said, chuckling softly before sobering very quickly, "but did you have to pull it on Hermione, especially when she's in such a fowl mood."

Sirius smiled. "Ah, but you see, now is the perfect time to do it since it could potentially cheer her up."

The twins stared at him for another moment, causing another long pause before they both burst out, "She turned a freaking tree into a toothpick!"

Sirius grinned wolfishly. "Yes, but this time there's no destroying them so she'll simply have to get used to them. That'll put her in the holiday spirit."

If anything, the colour of the twins' faces paled significantly more so at that last bit. "We're dead," Fred whispered in fear. "We're seriously dead this time."

"I love you Fred."

"And I love you George."

Sirius glanced off to the side towards the main entrance before quickly glancing back to the twins. "Well, have to be off. Just remember, it's always best to just run."

As he disapparted, George looked at Fred. "What do you think he meant by that?"

And at that precise moment, the main door burst open to admit none other than a seething Hermione Granger with her wand held firmly in her hand.

Fred gulped. "It meant run."

**Bah Humbug!**

Sirius knew the exact moment that Hermione Granger discovered the new addition to her holiday decoration. Of course, by adding the carolling penguins that did various dances across her yard and with the added capability of waking her up at precisely five in the morning, she was going to know it was him and not the twins.

Not even they would be that evil.

And so whenever the temperature changed ever so slightly and a sense of dread settled around the house, Sirius knew that Hermione had discovered the additions. He merely smiled that devious smile he had perfected over the years and poured himself another shot of Firewhisky.

And then he poured one for her.

Oh she was just going to love that. He knew she was going to be mad whenever she stormed in here, but when he reacted to her calmly, oh she was going to blow up.

Three, two, one…

"Sirius Black!" came the banshee squaw from the entrance hall. "Get your flea infested arse out here this instant."

"In here, love," he called back, sickeningly sweet too just to drive her crazy. He turned his back to the door and waited till he heard her before saying, "I was just getting myself something to drink. Here, I have one for you as well."

Anger flashed in her eyes. "I don't want your damn drink."

He tutted her softly as he walked over, holding out her drink. "Such language, Miss Granger. Surely you know that such language is unacceptable in civilized company."

Her eyes hardened as she stared at him haughtily, snatching the drink from his hand. "I do, in fact, know that, _Mr. Black_. However, I do not see any civilized company present."

"Excluding yourself, I presume."

She stared at him for a full minute before muttering something foul underneath her breath, causing him to smirk. Though he had not heard what she had said, he could about guess it.

He tossed back his drink and smiled at her when, instead of drinking, she sniffed the drink suspiciously. "I can assure you, my dear, that it is simply Firewhisky."

She shrugged. "Never can be too care with you." She took a sip and he was proud that she didn't immediately start choking. "After all, who can trust a person who trespasses and destroys private property?"

"Well, if it was truly destruction of private property, then I would say that you couldn't. However, since this hypothetical person didn't really destroy as much as brighten up the property, I would say you should trust them."

She downed the rest of her drink and set the glass down on the table. "You're such an idiot, Sirius," she said, glaring at him slightly.

He leaned down closer to him, his hand coming to a rest on her hip. "Ah, love, you know you love me, and you also know that sometimes I'm right."

She smiled, just ever so slightly. She tried her best to ignore his hand, but she couldn't ignore the fire that started in the pit of her stomach and blossomed towards his touch. That fire had been happening a lot lately whenever he was around. "_Sometimes_."

"Then would you agree that I know that you need to celebrate the holidays this year?"

"No."

He chuckled softly. "Ah, but we both know that it'll do you some good." His face grew serious as he touched her cheek softly. "The past, Hermione, is exactly that, _the past_. That doesn't mean that we have to forget it, it simply means that we need to move past it and live for the future."

"Sirius, this isn't up for discussion," she said, trying to turn her face away, but he caught her chin and kept her looking up at him.

"Celebrate with me, Hermione," he whispered softly, leaning closer to her. His eyes sparkled with an unknown emotion as his breath caused her skin to tingle. "Enjoy the holidays." He smiled down at her. "Try to remember what it was about this time of year that you used to love so much."

With tears in her eyes, Hermione pulled away from him, blanching inwardly at the loss of his touch. "It was family, Sirius," she said, turning away from him and walking towards the exit. "And now I have none."

He sighed as he heard the main door shut softly behind her. "You have us," he whispered to the empty room, wishing he knew how to make her see that. "You have me."

**Bah Humbug!**

Hermione stared at the object on the table in front of her. She watched as the figure inside of the globe twirled while the snow flew around her. The girl inside the globe laughed as she twirled, trying to catch the snow on her tongue as she went.

She smiled as she remembered all the trouble her parents had to go through to get this for her. They had contacted Sirius and he had taken a day off work to take them into Diagon Alley. It hadn't been cheap either, of course it probably didn't help that neither really knew how to bargain with a price gouging wizard. She figured as well that Sirius had donated some of the money to keep the Grangers from expecting exactly _how_ much it was. They really couldn't have afforded it, but he had known how much they had wanted to give it to her and for that she was grateful. He had made her parents happy.

She touched the love tenderly, remembering the simple joy that had shown on her parent's face for picking out such a gift. Sirius had invited them to the Black House for the holidays that year and, by picking out a wizarding world gift, they had felt like they, too, belonged to her world.

That had been the greatest gift of all and she was happy that Sirius had understood their need to be accepted into aspects of her world.

With that, her thoughts shifted to Sirius and the argument they had had a little less than a month ago. Had it really been that long since he had silently made a vow to make her miserable in every possible manner in hopes of upping her holiday spirit?

She couldn't help but recall all that he had done to her over the past month.

_(A walk down ye days of old…)_

_Hermione couldn't shake the feeling that she was being followed. She glanced behind her once, twice, and finally a third time when she could have sworn she heard the sound of devious, and fanatical laughing._

_Maybe she was just going bonkers. Yes, that was it. She was just paranoid because she was a little worried that Sirius would go through with his threat on ensuring that she enjoyed herself this Christmas. _

_Yes, that could be the only reason she was hearing things._

_But even as she reasoned with herself, Hermione still heard the laughter and she could have sworn that it was coming from right beside her. She glanced down to her side with a quizzical look, despite the fact that she was in a heavily populated area of muggles who were in turn giving her strange looks, and turned a whole circle._

_She frowned when it suddenly stopped and then shrugged. She was just losing it, that had to be it. With that thought, she continued on her way back to her house._

_She no sooner got the door open before a little House Elf- she knew they were small, but this one was abnormally small- decked out in a green and red scarf and hat appeared in front of her._

_A scream was her first reaction; her second was, "Who the bloody hell are you?"_

_The little elf smiled at her, his big green eyes gleaming with mischief. "A more appropriate question, Lady Grinch, is not who, but what. As to that, well, I would say it would be most logical to those who possess intellect, but alas, I am the Christmas Elf sent to spread holiday cheer to those who would otherwise play the unappetizing role of Scrooge."_

_Hermione bared her teeth at the little creature and raised her wand. "Get out."_

_The little elf smiled deviously and snapped his fingers, effectively making her wand disappear. "Sorry, not until I get my pay and you're not my employer. So sit back, relax, and prepare to hear all the Christmas classics because darling I plan to sing them all."_

_And then he started with that blasted song, Winter Wonderland._

_another time, another place_

_Hermione nearly groaned at the smell that drifted from her wardrobe the minute she had opened their doors to get something to wear. Peppermint, it was all peppermint. And not the good smell of peppermint either. Oh no, this was the smell of the peppermint that you only came across at Christmas time. The smell of candy canes and cheap scented pine cones._

_If she wasn't so late to work, she would apparate over there right now and kill him on the spot. Unfortunately, she couldn't spare the time so it would have to be later._

_She attempted to remove the smell with magic, but it only became stronger each time. Conscious of the first time she had repeatedly tried to undo one of Sirius' tricks, she hastily put her wand away and donned the outfit, hoping that no one would notice too much._

_Of course they had._

_(and then just a few days later…)_

_She brushed the snow off of her shoulder as it continued to fall, standing out against the black of her coat. Not that having snow fall on her was an oddity, but the fact that it was doing so while she was at work in a building made it quite odd and made it obvious that Sirius was behind it. _

_Not that it alarmed her any, really. She was getting quite used to these little attempts at making her enjoy Christmas. However, she suspected that he didn't realize that he was only aggravating her. She figured, though, that if she could live through a whole day of the Hogwarts' ghost following her around all day singing Christmas carols off key, then she could handle a little snow. She had wondered how Sirius had managed to convince them to leave their home to follow her around, until the Bloody Baron had replied that he was only in it for the food- rotten cod fish that is, which was apparently their favourite._

_Yes, she could live through a little snow. What she couldn't live through, however, was the fact that she had to avoid coffee. She had discovered this morning, quite by accident too, that Sirius had spiked her coffee with euphoria. So now she was going cold turkey and it was killing her._

_(then of course, a little later…)_

_Hermione stared in shock at the object before her. Unable to control herself, she found a her eyes filling up against her will and her mouth wobbling ever so slightly._

_Her tree…_

_The one she had grown up with, the one her parents had always decorated exactly the same every year, the one where she had some of her most fondest memories. That tree stood before her now in all its decorated glory just as she remembered it, right down to the very last paper plate angel._

_Her hand shook as she reached out and touched the small picture ornament of her family. It pictured a ten year old Hermione, one who didn't know of witches and wizards. She had been so innocent and naïve then, and her parents had been safe._

_But now they were gone and all she had left was her memories and a tree…_

_(present time)_

Hermione missed the girl in the snow globe, but even as she set there, she knew that she would not have changed a single event if she could. And she also knew that Sirius was right. She should honour her parents by celebrating Christmas, not by vetoing it.

Sirius was right about a lot of things, and the more she thought about all the things he had done to make her see how wrong she was, the more she appreciated him. True, before the start of all this, she had cared for him, somewhat more than she really should truthfully. Now, though, she saw him in a whole other light, one where she couldn't, nor wouldn't, deny her true feelings anymore.

"What am I going to do with you Sirius?" she mused as she looked across the sitting room at the tree he had doubtlessly spent hours on. You couldn't receive that sort of perfection with magic. That tree was done the old fashion way, which made it even more special in her eyes.

That sealed the deal. She knew there was no running away from her feelings anymore. They had been growing since the final war when Sirius had saved her, shielding her body with his. And then the little things had only served to increase her infatuation- the early morning coffee gatherings, the occasional new book that he would impulsively buy because he figured she would enjoy it, and finally this.

She wouldn't call it love. No, not that. That took more time to build and develop, but it was something close to it. She only hoped that he would be as willing to explore the possibilities as she was.

She shifted slightly, preparing to replace the snow globe to its rightful place on top of the mantle when she heard a light shuffling on her rooftop. Frowning, she listened as the footsteps grew closer to her chimney.

"Twas the night before Christmas," she mused softly, wondering what Sirius had done this time as she extracted her wand and extinguished the fire in the fireplace. "Wonder who the Christmas caper is this time. One of Santa's elves? Or maybe another little fairy with bug infested mistletoe."

She waited while she listened to the someone or something shimmy down her chimney and finally pop out at the bottom. Hermione's mouth formed an 'O' as she stared at the soot covered figure.

It was Santa.

Or more importantly, it was Sirius dressed as the jolly old man, complete with a pillow shoved in his shirt to make him larger.

He stumbled slightly as he tried to get out of the fireplace, knocking his head on the bricks and causing Hermione to laugh. The white parts of the suit were now dusted in black soot, and his face was completely black. The only real colour showing besides the red was his striking grey eyes.

He cursed as he dusted himself off, obviously not noticing her standing there watching him. When he finally looked up and caught sight of her, his eyes widened ever so slightly before he relaxed.

"Ho ho ho," he chimed, lowering his voice slightly. "You're supposed to be in bed. You don't want to make the naughty list do you?"

Hermione smirked slightly as she walked towards him. "I have a sneaky suspicion that you just might make that list as well, Santa."

His eyes sparkled with merriment as he took her hand, staining it with soot and brought it to his lips. "Never. I'm Santa. I spread the holiday cheer so I can't be naughty."

She raised a brow. "And the other three hundred sixty-four days of the year?"

"Those don't count," he said with a simple shrug.

She laughed at him, leaning in closer to him. "Oh Santa, you're really too much." She looked down to see that he was pulling a red bag behind him. A large one at that. "And what did you bring me this year?"

He smirked as he leaned back to get a better grip on the bag, though Hermione noticed he didn't let go of her hand. That had to be a good sign, right?

"Well, I'm really only supposed to give presents to those on the good list, and that doesn't include those who hate this holiday."

She smiled at him slightly. "And what if I told you that I may have had a recent change of heart on the holiday?"

His eyes snapped to hers as he studied her silently. "Really?" he asked finally, raising a hand up to cup her chin so he could tilt her head back. At her nod, he smiled, resting his forehead against hers. "That's good."

"Thank you," she whispered, giving his hand a light squeeze. "Even though you drove me batty and made me want to seriously strangle you at times, I understand why you did it." She moved her head to rest on his shoulder and hugged him lightly. "That is one of the best presents I have ever gotten."

"Well, you still have one more," he whispered, his breath making her hair flutter and skin tingle. "So tell me, what is the one thing you want for Christmas?"

She leaned back slightly and stared into his eyes, which were burning more intensely now than ever. She knew what she wanted more than anything this Christmas, but was she brave enough to take a chance?

Her hand moved up, touching a strand of his hair. She let her fingers drift down his face, his stubble making her nerves jump as her fingers skimmed his jaw line. Her eyes met his and she felt herself being pulled forward until their breath mingled. She swore he could probably hear her heart beating wildly against the walls of her chest.

"Mistletoe," he whispered softly, his hand cupping her cheek as he leaned in closer.

"Damn the mistletoe," she whispered right back before closing the distance and letting her lips press against his. "You are my Christmas wish, Sirius."

"You are my every wish," was all he said as he pulled her back to him and pressed his lips to hers once more. This time, he teased hers with his tongue, coaxing her to open and let him dive into her sweet heat. She swirled her tongue with his, tasting sweet cocoa with a hint of peppermint.

She pulled back for air at the same moment as he, both panting wildly as their eyes met. "Peppermint," he murmured with a smile.

She laughed, leaning back in to kiss him sweetly. "Though I think it smells horridly, I do have to admit that it tastes quite wonderfully in coffee." Her lips settled onto his, her teeth nipping his lower lip slightly.

He smirked. "You should try it in cocoa." He fingered a tendril, pushing it behind her ear as he pressed his lips to her temple. "Happy Christmas, Hermione," he whispered as the clock chimed midnight.

Grabbing his hand and leading him to her bedroom, she smiled. "Happy Christmas, Santa."

**Merry (or Happy) Christmas!**

**MiZZ AmAyA**


End file.
